


Unethical AF

by Thalena



Category: Almost Family (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:20:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22203079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thalena/pseuds/Thalena
Summary: This expands upon the trial storyline after Tim finds out about Edie and Amanda's relationship.Now on chapter two!
Relationships: Amanda Doherty/Edie Palmer
Comments: 9
Kudos: 30





	1. Turning the Page

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad to see that there's already fanfiction for this, I love this show and I think it has a lot of potential when it comes to fanfiction. I'd just like to take a moment to clearly lay out my intentions for this fanfic so no one's surprised. Feel free to skip this if you just want to get to the story.
> 
> This is going to focus primarily on Tim, Edie, and Amanda, their jobs, and the court case. The show's other main characters are probably going to show up at some point (Julia is in the first chapter!), but it's not going to focus on them or their stories. Julia's paternity situation will be mentioned but probably not explored, and I honestly think Roxy will barely play a role in this story. There'll probably be some recurring OCs in the form of Edie/Tim/Amanda's co-workers, but I don't expect them to be too important.
> 
> My writing style is dialogue-heavy, and that will probably make up most of the story. This story is probably going to have a more humorous tone than the show itself starting in a few chapters, mostly derived from the dynamic between Tim/Edie/Amanda, the fact that they're working on the case together, and the ethical/professional complications arising from that. I don't write explicit scenes; anything sexual is probably either going to be glossed over or described only so far as it serves the story's humor. I am going to have to make my own interpretations about certain things the show has so far left ambiguous- Edie's exact sexual orientation, for example- so be aware of that.
> 
> For the most part, I'm going to be trying to follow the show's timeline. The first several chapters are going to take place between E108 and 109, because of the latitiude offered with TIm knowing about the situation and Edie still being on the case, and the story is very likely going to extend beyond the season finale. I may bend the show's timeline a little bit if it interferes with my plans, but I'll be sure to make that clear in an author's note. I suppose this would be a good point to mention that I'm assuming the E108 revelation about Julia's father happened a few days after the scene with Edie, so it won't be mentioned in the first few chapters.
> 
> And now that that's out of the way, let's get to it! I promise future author's notes won't be nearly this long.

Edie huddled under an overhang, clutching her purse and waiting for her ride. It had started raining just after she left, and still she'd walked about a block from the apartment; she didn't want any neighbors to see her like this, to ask what was going on. She should've taken more than just her purse, but there was no way she was going to go back and face Tim again, not yet.

A dark gray car pulled up just a little ways away. Edie confirmed that it was her ride and shuffled her way into the back seat.

"Edie, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

There was a brief quiet. Her breathing was loud and shaky, and the driver's eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror. "Are you okay?"

Edie wiped her face and started shuffling through her purse. There was another pause, longer this time. "I need to make a call."

She managed to fish her phone from her purse and held it in fumbling hands. She dialed Julia's number, and the ringing seemed to go on forever before it finally picked up.

"Hey Edie."

"Hey, Julia," Edie exhaled sharply. "I'm on my way over."

"Are you okay? Did you-"

"I told him."

"How did it-"

"I'll- I'll tell you about it when I get there."

She and Julia exchanged farewells and she dropped her phone back into her purse. The driver was merciful enough to give up on small talk. Edie settled into the back seat and stared at the kaleidoscope of raindrops that had collected on the window. They reflected and magnified the lights of passing businesses, for a time distracting Edie from her thoughts, from the long chain of events that had led her life to this point.

"Hey, you there?" There was movement in the corner of her eye. Edie snapped out of her trance and turned to see the driver waving at her. "There we are. Is this the right place?"

"Yes. Thank you, sorry."

Edie stepped out of the car and across the street. She'd done this how many times now? It was always Julia- she knocked on the door- that she went running to. It was strange to think about how much things had changed between them as compared to when she had first started dating Tim so long ago.

Julia opened the door and gestured for her to come in. Edie took a shaky step forward, and Julia grabbed her gently by the wrist, guiding her into the next room and onto the couch. Edie put her purse down and leaned back, sinking into the couch. Julia sat across from her, and they stayed there quiet for a while longer.

"Are you okay?" Julia asked.

"No," Edie said. "But I will be." She took a deep breath. "Could I get some water?"

* * *

Edie took another tissue and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Her skin already felt dry and raw. She took in another shuddering breath and turned her head again to face Julia, holding out one of the throw pillows.

"Sorry, I got this all wet."

"It's just tears. I'm sure it's fine."

"I know. I just..." Edie took another breath. "This is what I- god, Julia, what did I do? I've been saying this whole time that I just didn't want everything to get ruined. And now I've gone and blown my whole life up."

"Edie, it's going to be okay."

Edie stopped to grab another tissue. "I didn't even grab any of my things. I don't have any clothes or shoes, anything."

"I'm sure Tim will let you come back and get your things. He's not petty like that."

"I know, I just- the look in his eyes, Julia. He's completely devastated. I don't know how what it's going to be like when I see him again."

Julia stood up. "I can go see if I have anything that you would be able to wear."

"You don't have to do that."

"Well, actually, I think I do. If you're going to be staying here for even a few days, I don't think it would be good for either of us if you were wearing the same thing that entire time."

Edie chuckled half-heartedly and looked down. "I should call Amanda."

"You do that. I'll go look through the closet."

Edie pulled out her phone. There were no calls or texts from anyone. She called Amanda's number and waited with the phone pressed against her ear. It rang, and kept ringing, and finally went to voicemail. She hung up and frowned at her phone, then called again. The same result.

_Call me when you can_, Edie texted. She set her phone down on the cushion next to her and pressed her neck against the back of the couch. She shut her eyes and suddenly realized how tired she was. The day had taken a lot out of her, and with everything that had been going on, rest seemed like an abstraction more than anything.

Julia came down the stairs several minutes later with a few pieces of clothing.

Edie opened her eyes. "Amanda must be busy."

"Did you text her, then?"

"Yeah, I did," Edie said. "Maybe she's working tonight. She wouldn't just ignore me like that."

Julia put the clothes down on the table and sat back down. "Take a look at these, they look like they might work. Some of them probably aren't your size, but as, I don't know, pajamas, maybe they could work."

Edie took a look at what Julia had picked out, but she barely thought about it and put them back down without commenting. "I don't think I can go to work tomorrow," she said. "It's just all too much right now. And if Tim's there..."

"You've had a rough day, Edie. You don't need to have it all figured out right now," Julia reached over and put her hand on Edie's knee. "It's getting late. Maybe you should try to get some sleep. Now the guest room is free, so you don't even have to sleep on the couch."

Edie looked down at her phone and put it back in her purse. "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep," she admitted. "But I am tired."

She stood up, grabbed her bag, and picked her way over to the stairs. Her heart was still thudding in her ears from all the crying, and her legs felt a little unsteady. She brushed her fingers over the handrail to keep her balance as she made her way to the second floor.

"Just let me know if you need anything," Julia called.

* * *

She had been in bed for what, now- thirty minutes?- and still she was wide awake. Edie turned and opened her eyes to look at the digital clock across the room. Thirty-five minutes. Close. She sighed and buried her head in the pillows again.

The conversation was playing on loop in her head. When she stopped Tim, had him sit down for the conversation. Her voice, trembling, as she spoke. The look in his eyes, the way he told her to go. She could see and hear everything so clearly, and now it was crystallizing in her memory as she lay there trying to sleep.

And then her phone rang.

Edie grabbed it so quickly that it almost slipped out of her hands. She caught it and lifted it to her face, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust so she could read the name on the screen. Amanda.

She accepted the call but couldn't find the words with which to answer it. Amanda, of course, came through, as she always did. "Edie? What's going on?"

"Amanda, I told Tim."

A moment passed before Amanda's voice came back over the phone. "Are you okay?"

"I'm going to be fine, I just... I had to let you know. We didn't talk actually about divorce or anything like that, not yet. He just wanted me out of the apartment."

"Are you safe? Do you need me to come get you, or send someone?"

"I'm with Julia now. I'm fine. We should talk in person."

"Margaret has Lorenzo the next few days. We could go somewhere, or you could come over to my place and we'd be alone."

"I want to see you tomorrow. I just have to figure out the details. I need to get my things out of the apartment. I'll let you when I can come over."

"Take care of yourself, Edie."

"I know, I will. See you soon?"

"See you soon."

Edie put the phone back on the nightstand and looked up at the ceiling. The room was quiet except for her own breathing. It was the first night in a while that she was going to sleep without Tim; she never would again, she told herself. And she wasn't sad about it. It was the end of a long chapter in her life, but now that it was over, she was just eager to see what was next.

Eventually, all the thoughts gave way to silence, and Edie fell asleep, alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happened after Edie told Tim has been covered quite a bit in their other fanfics, and this first chapter is a little lackluster for my liking, but I think it's important to this story to clearly define what happened there and build upon it. I already have the second chapter written up that I'm busy editing, which is much longer and, at least in my opinion, hits on more interesting topics. I think chapter three is probably where this story is going to start settling into the tone that I'm looking for.


	2. Lies and Logistics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The characters continue to deal with the consequences of Edie and Tim's conversation.

Her throat was still hoarse from all the crying last night. Maybe that was for the best; her "illness" would be more convincing. She held the phone to her face and listened to it ring.

"Edie?"

"Hey Chad," she said. "I can't come in today. I woke up sick."

"You too?" he said. "Tim called in about half an hour ago. You two must've given it to each other."

Edie faked a cough. "Maybe."

There was a pause. "So when do you think you two will be back?"

"I don't know about Tim," Edie said. "But I know we have to be in court tomorrow, and I can't miss-"

"Actually, it looks like the prosecution is out sick too," Chad said. "Must be something going around. She wants to postpone it. I can say yes if that's what you and Tim want."

"You'll have to ask Tim," Edie said hastily. "He- He went to go get some cough medicine. I can't ask him right now. But you'll have no objections from me."

"Alright, I'll call him. You two feel better soon. We can't have our power couple out of commission for too long. You don't make-"

"You don't make partner sitting at home. I know, I know. See you in a few days, Chad."

She set her phone off to the side and took a deep breath. Part of her just wanted to stay there for hours under the warm covers. Right now, she didn't have to worry about divorce papers, or sitting next to Tim at the conference table, or standing in the judge's chambers and having to explain her relationship with Amanda. A second part of her wanted to get in the shower and wipe away all of yesterday's tears, the memories, the cold emotions that clung to her skin like sweat. She cast a glance at her phone. Another part of her just wanted to call Amanda again.

She rolled over and stared at the wall.

* * *

Eventually, she decided on a shower. There were none of her familiar toiletries- they were still sitting in her and Tim's apartment- but it was nice to feel the warm water against her skin. She stepped out the shower, dried herself off, and put on some of the clothes that Julia had found for her. They were a little looser that what she would normally wear, but they would work. She wouldn't be embarrassed to go out in public like this.

Edie walked down the stairs and made her way into the kitchen. Julia was already sitting at the table, and a plate of food was sitting at the empty chair across from her.

"You've been busy," Edie said.

"It's for you. I was worried you'd forget to eat," Julia said. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Edie sighed and sat down at the table. "But it's going to take time. Tim isn't at work either. Which is good- I'm not ready to hear what my boss is going to have to say about this."

"You knew what you were getting into."

"I know, but it's like- I fell into it, Julia. I never would've gotten involved with opposing counsel. But it all just... happened, and now it's too late," Edie looked down at her plate. "I'm going over to her place after this."

"Do you need anything?"

"No, I just-"

Edie's voice trailed off as her phone started to ring. She pulled it out and stared at the name on the screen.

"It's Tim," she said quietly.

"Are you going to answer it?" Julia asked.

Edie didn't respond, her eyes locked on the phone screen. She stood up slowly, accepted the call, and brought the phone to her ear without a word as she began to make her way into the next room.

"Edie," came his voice, maybe as hoarse as hers. "We need to talk."

* * *

"I just can't believe we're talking to each other so soon," Edie said.

"We work together, Edie. We have the apartment together. I want nothing to do with you right now, but there are too many things we have to work out, and that's going to be a lot easier in person."

"I know." She sighed and sat down on the couch. "Where? At the apartment?"

"No. In public. A coffee shop," he said. "I'll text you the address. I think it'd be better if we weren't alone together right now."

"Okay," She took another deep breath. "I can be there at three."

"It's eight right now."

"I know, I... have something to do." Edie held her breath.

"Okay," He said, after a pause. "I'll text you the address."

He hung up, and the phone went silent. Edie let herself breathe again and made her way back to the kitchen. Julia was watching her.

"How did it go?"

"He wants to meet, talk about things," Edie sat back down at the table. "The apartment, what we're going to do about work."

"Well, that's good," Julia said. "I told you he'd let you get your things."

"Yeah," Edie said. "I just don't know if I'm ready to see him again."

Julia stood up and put her plate in the sink. "I have to head to the clinic," she said. "Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks, Julia."

"See you, Edie."

* * *

Edie walked into the apartment and sat down on the couch, still catching her breath from the walk up the stairs. Amanda followed and sat down next to her. Neither of them said a word. They stared at each other, and it occurred to Edie that she hadn't thought of what she was going to say.

"You postponed the court date tomorrow," were the first words that came to mind.

"I thought it was for the best," Amanda said. "It was better for you. Probably better for Tim, too. And, from a selfish perspective, I wouldn't want to deal with opposing council two days after they broke up, even if I wasn't with you."

"You didn't have to call in sick, though," Edie said.

"I wanted to see you."

"You could've waited until after work."

"Well, maybe I'm not a patient woman."

Edie reached out to play with a strand of Amanda's hair. "That's not what you've been telling me."

Amanda leaned over and they kissed. Amanda broke away first, grinning.

"What do you think now?" she asked.

Edie licked her lips. "That didn't seem patient to me."

Amanda leaned back against the other side of the couch, studying her closely. "How are you doing with all this?"

"I'm going to be fine," Edie said. She looked down at the quilt on the couch and took a breath. "Amanda, when did you know that I was... you know, into... When did you know I was interested in you?"

Amanda's eyes didn't shift, and Edie couldn't read her expression. "When you kissed me."

"But you knew before that. You said so, that day we first went to lunch."

"I suspected, I didn't know," Amanda said. "There's no way to really know except to ask."

"Well, why did you suspect, then?"

"You know, little things. The way I'd catch you looking at me in court when I was getting ready to leave and you were about to go up to the stand. Sometimes you'd get flustered when I talked to you. Little things like that," Amanda smiled. "Oh, and when I saw you with that one judge... I can never remember her name. The newer one. Young, she's always wearing that eyeshadow. Mac-something?"

"Judge MacCaffrey?"

"That's it. Just the way you acted around her. That was what really made me think that the way you behaved around me wasn't just in my head."

"Don't tell me I made a fool of myself in front of the judge."

"No, don't worry about it. You were fine," Amanda said. "I think she's cute, too."

Edie shifted and reached her arm across the couch. For a moment, neither of them said anything. Their fingers locked, their hands warm against each other.

"Why are you asking me this?" Amanda asked.

"I was talking with my mom," Edie looked down again and sighed. "And she was saying that she could always tell. And I... this situation, it's my fault. Tim didn't deserve to be dragged into this marriage."

"You didn't deserve this either," Amanda inched closer and squeezed Edie's hand a little tighter. "Nobody does. You shouldn't blame yourself, Edie. This shouldn't happen to anybody, but it does, and it's not any one person's fault. It's what we're raised to think, what we see when we turn on the TV, what we heard at school when we were kids. We all deserve to be happy, but for a long time, society has only ever given us one idea about what that looks like."

"I think on some level I always knew that there was something wrong, but I did everything I could not to think about it. And then when you came along, it just all fell just apart so easily," Edie laughed nervously. "It's hard not to feel like I've wasted most of my adult life."

"You haven't," Amanda said. "You have a great career, you've done well for yourself. And now you're here. You have the whole rest of your life ahead of you to live in a way that makes you happy."

Their hands separated. Edie leaned against the couch and tilted her head, still facing Amanda. "I've told you about my mom. Her personality, her approach to life. We're very different people."

"The background check really drove that home. I can't imagine Edie Palmer ever finding herself in trouble with the IRS."

Edie chuckled. "Not even that," she said. "My mom's always been... a free spirit, I guess you'd say, and as a kid, I hated it. I just wanted to wear normal clothes and come home to a normal family with a mom and dad. I wanted to spend my free time... I don't know, studying, or doing homework, and instead she'd drag me off to a protest or a weird concert or whatever was going on that weekend."

"There were a few arrests in her file," Amanda said. "One was at a protest for gay rights. I took note of that."

"And that's the thing," Edie said. "I've always sort of associated those sorts of... You know, that kind of... People like us..."

"Lesbians?"

"Yes," Edie said quickly. "I've always associated that with people who lead the lifestyle my mother does. That's not me, and I've never wanted anything to do with it. I know that's not accurate, I shouldn't be thinking like this, but it's hard to shake the idea when it's been there for so long."

"There's this idea that lesbians don't have families or careers," Amanda said. "And that was hard for me at one point, too. In some ways maybe it still is. When I was younger, I wish there'd been somebody to tell me that accepting that I was gay didn't mean I had to give up on those things. I ended up having to convince myself of that on my own."

"I feel like in some ways you helped me realize that, actually," Edie said. "Although you should've heard some of the things I was saying about you before any of this happened. You make such interesting fashion choices for court sometimes, and the glasses-"

"I like to think that I'm comfortable in my own skin, counselor," Amanda smirked and lifted a hand to stroke Edie's hair. "You thought it was hot."

"I realize that _now_," Edie held up a hand in playful indignation. "What I mean is that you're a lawyer, you have a successful career. The fact that you're a lesbian didn't change any of that."

"And I think we're lucky to live in a time and a place where that's possible," Amanda said. "Even if it's still not easy. When we were growing up, we didn't get to see people like us doing what we do. Not openly."

Edie sighed. "Yeah." She reached out to run her hand along Amanda's chest. "It was hard, but I'm so glad I'm here now."

They pulled each other close and started to kiss again. Amanda stopped briefly, smiling, and said, "I'm glad you are, too."

Then their lips were together again and they pressed themselves against each other. They kissed in that position for a long time until Amanda stopped again.

"How would you feel about watching a movie?" she asked. "One of my friends was telling me about this one, and all I could think about is how much you'd love it."

"What is it?"

"Oh, I think it'd be better if I keep it a surprise."

Amanda stood up and gestured for Edie to follow.

* * *

"I knew you were the sort of person that would enjoy one of those legal dramas," Amanda said.

Edie looked over and grinned. "Don't give me that. You liked it, too."

"I just can't get over the way they disregard the rules of evidence. It's so egregious."

"What stuck out to me was how much of a caricature the prosecutor was," Edie walked over and put her hand of Amanda's shoulder. "The ones I know are far more competent than that."

"I'm glad to hear it," Amanda said. "Do you want something to eat? It's a little late for lunch, but who's judging?"

"You know I'd love to, but I think I'm going to have to go. Tim wants to meet me at this coffee shop, and I have to make sure I'm not going to be late."

"Oh." Amanda shifted back ever so slightly. "I thought you said you and him were...?"

"We are. I think he wants to talk logistics. Divorce, the apartment, what we're going to do about work."

"Well," Amanda said. "If you need any recommendations for a divorce lawyer, let me know."

"Oh, trust me, I'm going to make a list. I'm sure Chad is going to offer some recommendations, and I'll ask around the office." Edie stepped in front of a mirror and started to fix her hair. "I've always known lawyers have such high divorce rates, but it's strange to think that I'm about to become part of that statistic."

"Allow me to welcome you into the club."

Edie chuckled. "Chad's going to be disappointed when he hears that he wasn't first."

"Anyways, good luck," Amanda said. "And let me know when you're going to be back at work. I'd be willing to agree to another postponement if you need it."

"I think we're good for next week," Edie said. "I'll let you know. I'll see you soon."

Edie wrapped her arms around Amanda and they kissed. Edie pulled back and walked towards the door, waving goodbye.

"See you soon," Amanda said.

* * *

The coffee shop was crowded when Edie walked in. She scanned the room and spotted Tim in a booth against the far wall. She walked over and slid in across from him; he looked up, and their eyes met. He seemed so tired, Edie thought, so subdued. She couldn't remember ever having seen him like this, and she was having trouble guessing his exact emotions. Defeat, maybe, worse than she had ever seen before. Not even their toughest losses in the courtroom had come with this infectious sort of sadness.

"Edie," he said flatly.

"Hi, Tim," she said, setting her purse down next to her. "Why did we have to come all the way out to Brooklyn for this?"

"I didn't want us to be seen," he said. "Not by anyone who knows us."

"Okay," Edie said, slowly, trying to work it all out in her head. "But we are in New York. Odds are that-"

"I just didn't want to risk it, okay?" Tim was fiddling with the edges of a small stack of paper on the table. "I don't want to be doing this right now any more than you do. But we need to figure out..."

He trailed off, his gaze firmly fixed on Edie's face. She stared at him blankly for a few long moments, even turning around to see if he was looking at something behind her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Is that..." He started to perform some nondescript hand gestures. "Is that _lipstick_?"

A cold feeling crept along her skin, and she began to stammer. "I'm wearing lipstick, yeah."

"No," Tim gestured to his cheek. "Right there."

Edie took a small makeup mirror from her purse and held it up to her face with unsteady fingers. There on her cheek, in a shade she didn't own, was a bright red, partially faded lip imprint. Her cheeks warmed and she reached for a napkin to wipe the mark away.

"Edie," Tim said in a low voice. "I can't believe that you-"

He stopped, perhaps taking a moment to collect himself, and shook his head. "I could believe anything about you, at this point," he corrected himself. "But you can't... Can you imagine what would happen if you showed up to work and Chad caught you with the prosecutor's lipstick on your face?"

"He doesn't have to know it's her," Edie said. "Plenty of women wear lipstick. And I don't- I don't even know how that happened. It's never happened before, I don't even know why she was wearing lipstick in her own apartment, but I don't think-"

"Edie, you don't get it," Tim said. "We can't let Chad, or any of the people at work, know about this situation."

"What do you mean, Tim? I'm done with the hiding. This is who I am, and I'm not going to-"

"Goddamnit, Edie," Tim took a deep breath and his hands hit the table with a thud. "Can't you see it's not all about you?"

She took a few moments to decipher what he said. "I don't think we're on the same page right now. What are _you_ talking about?"

"The Bechley case is huge for both of us. If we get a divorce right now, or if Chad finds out what's going on between us, he's going to pull us both off of the case and put somebody on it who's at a more emotionally stable point in their life," Tim said. "I'd think that you especially would have a vested interest in him not finding out, considering you're the one who's actually sleeping with the prosecutor."

"So you want us to still pretend we're a couple while we're at work?"

"We have to, unless you have any better ideas," Tim said. "Listen, I don't like this any more than you do, but you know how important this case is. I'd rather we go, I don't know, a year like this, than get screwed over for years to come because we couldn't wait. Who knows? Maybe we'll get a good plea deal and this'll be over in a few months."

"I don't know," Edie said. "I know, logically, that you're right. But this is going to be hard."

"It's the best choice," Tim said. "If there was any other way, I wouldn't be saying this."

Edie sighed and glanced across the shop to one of the windowed walls. She watched a bus pass by a tree outside, blocking some of the light and causing the shadows in the room to shift momentarily. She turned back to Tim and looked down at papers he had under his hands.

"We have to figure everything else out, too," Tim said, flipping through his stack of papers and handing Edie one of the documents. "Now, the apartment..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably going to be rather slow with updates. I'm a college student and the new semester just started, so I've a little busy lately. So far I'm only about halfway done with chapter three (unless it ends up long enough to split into two- hmm, decisions), and I normally prefer to have a buffer of a few chapters. I also kind of want to take it slow so I can see how the show ends and I can figure out where exactly I want to go with this story. If they're going to make us wait until February, I wish they'd just release the episodes ahead of time on Hulu.
> 
> Until next time!


End file.
